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He smashed and re-wrote UTEP school records in almost every passing category during his time as a Miner, and is ranked as the fourth best player of the Mike Price era inside our countdown; none other than current Chicago Bear Jordan Palmer.
Palmer lead UTEP to back-to-back eight win seasons in 2004 and 2005 which parlayed into to appearances in the Houston and GMAC Bowls, and was recently named onto the UTEP Athletics Centennial Football team.
He won the starting job back in 2004 as a sophomore after a heated battle in camp, three years later Palmer would finish with 11,084 passing yards, 88 touchdowns, as well as a 136.6 quarterback rating over his Miner career.
His 13 career 300 yard passing games to go along with his total career passing yards, and career passing touchdowns were UTEP records at time of his tenure.
The most efficient season of his career was his senior year, where he completed 65 percent of his passes, threw for a career high and single season school record 3,595 yards, and career low 14 interceptions with 26 touchdowns through the air.
Palmer had four career 400 yard passing games in his career, and finished his first year as a starter in 2004 with three straight 300 yard passing games to end his first season as "the guy".
During his three year run as a starter, Palmer tossed 81 touchdowns, and lead the Miners to 21 wins.
He was drafted in the sixth round of the in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, though has never stuck to a NFL roster or a consistent role, playing in only four career NFL games.
Palmer backed up his Heisman Trophy Winning brother Carson from 2008-2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals, he had a short stint as a backup in Jacksonville in 2012.
He would again surface on the NFL scene in 2013 when he signed with Chicago last season then was released, only to be then signed again later in the year as an emergency quarterback after Jay Cutler was sidelined with injury for a significant amount of time.
Currently he is projected as the Bears backup, locked in a contested battle with former Golden Domer Jimmy Clausen to backup Jay Franchise.
Palmer also figures to have a solid career lined up after his football playing days as well.
He trained and prepared Jacksonville Jaguars 2014 first round pick Blake Bortles in his path to the draft, and has been described by legit NFL media/analysts as a future coach at either the pro or college level, with a very high IQ, and overall knowledge of the game and quarterback position.
Palmer signed in 2013 as the lead quarterback coach with Athlete's Performance, and is apart of the ESPN Elite 11 quarterback competitions, and can usually be found around Nike's high school prospects combines as well.
There is no doubt Palmer could be considered the best quarterback to come through UTEP, the high flying offensive era was a staple for Mike Price years, with Palmer as his engineer for three of those seasons.
Top Ten Player of the Mike Price Era